Pathway to Ascension
by CriedOut911
Summary: No one ever said it would be easy. 104th Squad Three Years Training Arc. Spawn of From Oblivion to Ascension. Rated T for language and other themes. [HIATUS]


**So here its is. Pathway to Ascension. Like I said before, I will be taking a more comical aspect with this so...just read it.**

**Disclaimer: Hajime Isayama owns Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan. I am receiving absolutely nothing from this.**

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Stop Suffocating Me With Your Angst**_

"Who the hell are you!?"

"Mina Carolina from Trost. Sir!"

"No! You're pig-shit from shit city!"

"Yes! I'm pig-shit from shit city!"

Rin had to hide her laughter, cover it up into the deepest depths of her throat. Maturity could take a hike right now, this was funny. Fifteen minutes past, filled with Instructor Keith Shadis mentally making people piss in their pants and counted by the number of times he threw the word 'shit' at them. She was showered by luck when the instructor passed by and miraculously didn't say anything to her, even though she tensed up and was wearing an 'oh, fuck' face when he strolled by.

"Who the hell are you!?"

"I'm Jean Kirschtein from Trost, sir!"

"Why are you here!?"

A short second then a crooked smirk. "To join the Military Police and live in Wall Sina."

Rin could feel Eren angsting from four rows away, high levels of it, and she could only think of the chaos that would be set in stone once he meets this boy. It was so going to happen because apparently, Eren has a hit list for people who want to be in the inner walls.

"I see? So you wanna live in Wall Sina?"

"Yes sir!"

Rin heard a strong thwack of Keith smashing his skull against the boy. Jean yelped and tumbled to his knees, scrambling at his head. "Owww!"

"Who told you to kneel you shrimp dick fuck nugget!"

Another glorious ten minutes dragged by with everyone making a unanimous verdict that Keith Shadis is a Class A asshole and realizing shooting for a rebellious role was not the brightest idea.

_Munch Munch Munch Gulp_

A girl with brown hair, oblivious to all the scandalized stares of her peers, shred another bite off her steamy potato, gulping it down with a force of a dying man. By this point, very few people were breathing and probably whispering small prayers of empty promises to visit the girl's grave.

"You." Keith finally spoke, snapping his attention towards the girl. "What are you doing?"

Her reply was another round of chews and swallows and occasional stops because chewing was one hell of a job.

"You I'm talking to! Who the fuck are you!?"

She got in another good gulp before answering. "I'm Sasha Braus from Daupa, south of Wall Rose, sir!"

"Sasha Braus…" He repeated darkly. "What are you holding in your right hand?"

Keith eyeballed Sasha in such a way that a girl beside Rin almost passed out. Rin felt like was she going to get mauled by her laughter, the stony face she was maintaining turning to rubbish. Everyone's face was too much and she couldn't be bothered by the situation. The pony-tailed girl was fascinating and humorous and too dumb for her own good.

"It's a steamed potato! I found it in the kitchen, sir!"

To make matters escalate, she _stole_ the potato. Her grave now deserved some flowers.

"Why…Why are you eating a potato now?"

"It's eaten best when it's warm! I thought that now would've been the best time, sir!"

"But why…Why are you eating a potato?"

"…Are you asking why people eat potatoes in general, sir?"

Everyone now was staring holes into Braus, saying _why, why are you doing it to yourself?_ Sasha chose that moment to actually recognize the looks pinpointed at her and a bullet of sweat freely left her forehead. Realizing that she had to make one of the greatest sacrifices in her life, she broke apart her potato (her precious, fluffy, salted just right potato,_ god dammit_) and gave piece of it to the instructor.

"Here's half…for you, sir."

Squinting wasn't even called for because everyone saw it and knew full well that that wasn't even half of the potato, but remaining soundless and wordless was everyone's virtue.

"A half…?" Keith tailed off, looking at Sasha once more before being met with the most high drunkard smile he'd ever seen.

A smile that implied _I shared with you. You are my friend and since you are my friend, you'll let me off the hook._

But that was against Keith Shadis's nature.

* * *

It was kind of balls that Sasha didn't get the optimal first impression she desired, and even more balls in her situation that Rin thrived off her misery by making the nickname 'Potato Girl' for her. Rin swelled in pride; So much hubris because people had taken a liking for that nickname for Sasha and now she was indeed seen as a comical person. Guilt did trample her mind for the briefest of seconds, but, meh, sacrifices are to be made.

So after everyone found it fit to stop watching Sasha as entertainment, everyone gathered inside the mess hall for dinner. After grabbing a bowl of lentil soup and bread, Rin decided it would best to sit next to Armin and Mikasa because they were smart and did not partake in story time like Eren did. With all the kids around him, Rin made a face at the looks of impressed grins and bewildered faces all around, speaking about Titans as if it was the fresh new tasteful gossip.

It was then when their topic landed on the Colossal Titan and Armored Titan, her grip on the spoon became too rigid, the bite of her bread too loud, but she composed herself stealthily, still able to scoop up some of what Armin was saying.

From across the room, a snicker hit the air. "Dude, are you nuts?" Eren whipped his head around hard. Rin had a solid knowing of who it was. Oh God and he just had to do it when Eren was talking about the Scouting Legion.

Yep that was definitely a smirk on Jean Kirschtein's face.

_I should be a psychic_ Rin slurped her soup thoughtfully.

"Did you just say you wanted to join the Scouting Legion?" Jean asked mockingly.

"Yeah." Eren countered. "And if memory serves me right you're the guy who wanted to join the Military Police and chill."

"Honest is what I am. It's better than acting all tough when you're scared shitless." That damn smirk was stilling curling his lips, tauntingly waving like a red flag in front of Eren's eyes.

"Are you talking about me?" Eren planted his hands on the table, just about ready to jump his shit, but the bell chimed before anything and it startled him to a halt. Dinner time was over.

Rin damned herself because her mind was so enraptured in the moment of angst between Eren and Jean that she wasn't even halfway done with her dinner. "Crap." And she began to scarf it down.

"Sorry for offending you." said Jean and some soup almost sputtered out her mouth, because that was straight up sarcasm in his voice. That shit was easy to recognize; she had been living with it since birth.

"I wasn't trying to judge the way you think."

"Yeah. Same here. Sorry." And a handshake appeased their little feud. Dumb, so, so dumb. Rin would have to teach him the ways of sarcasm.

So, it was obvious that her friends weren't going to wait for her. Armin high tailed it out as soon as the bell rang, Eren was leaving right now and Mikasa was getting up. "I'll meet up with you." Rin said to her and Mikasa nodded, going to catch up with Eren.

Jean watched Eren's retreating back, glad that he was gone and taking his stupidity with him. He knew he would find some suicidal nut feigning to be valiant, but not one so soon. The guy couldn't even tell the sarcasm that saturated his words through and through. _What a dumbass!_

Then, for a moment, all Jean could see was someone trailing after him and things got a little bit confusing. A girl, a pretty girl with nice shiny black hair, it wasn't dull at all. It sailed effortlessly and Jean followed it from the start of his vision to the end.

"Hey you!" Mikasa turn around and his senses were right. She was hot.

"I-I don't…remember seeing y-you around." Why did he sound like he had Down syndrome? He lost his intelligence to communicate? When Mikasa eyed him with bored eyes, he shook his head to fling out every unnecessary thought. She was pretty, but he wasn't going to let her emotionally dominate him.

"Your black hair is really pretty." He could feel himself going red, _fuck_.

"Thanks." And the conversation was done right there. She continued her walk out the door and Jean was across the room in a hot second, throwing himself at the door frame because he just had to see where she was going to. He searched through the veil of the night for the black-haired hottie.

He wanted to melt through the cracks of the floorboard.

There she was, walking with too-retarded-to-spot-sarcasm boy and he deflated.

About to go back inside the cottage like place and adding to his mental list to learn how to make voodoo dolls, someone accidentally socked Jean in the arm, hard enough to knock him off balance. He gritted his teeth because hell no, he didn't feel like being the mature party in this right now.

"Watch where you're…" Jean cast aside his unfailing acrimony. Who knew so many hot girls joined the military this year.

Another pretty girl with weird colors for hair and eyes; it was unique, something that people wouldn't normally have. Jean had to swiftly realize yes this person is real, he's real and this is so happening. But before his mind could scream to wake the fuck up and stop gawking, the girl came and went, leaving a half-hearted apology in her void.

"Sorry er…Jean was it?"

Not even waiting for a response, Rin bounced down the stairs and saw Eren and Mikasa not too far away. "Jeez you guys are slowpokes. I thought you guys would've been far by now."

And of course the beauty had to be walking with the suicidal asshole. So, clearly, Jean had to drop kick Eren in the teeth. Like, this had to happen. He was a boy that evenly accepted life was unfair, but what the hell!?

So he watched as the trio faded away, pretty sure that he felt something die a little in his brain. And what perfect timing that an upbeat lad, Connie Springer, came passing by, humming a jovial tune.

For no apparent reason. Jean wiped his hand on the back of Connie's shirt.

Connie scrabbled at his back "What the hell, man!? Does my shirt look like a tissue to you!? What did you wipe on it!?"

"My faith…in humanity…"

Connie almost lost to his sissy scream when he saw Jean's face, dead, dark and scary as hell.

* * *

It was joy that the girls' cabin was capacious. Rin originally thought that they would be packed in like sardines, but they even had a long table and a furnace to boot (they could gather around it and hold hands and sing crappy campfire songs. That would help with girl bonding). Couple of windows because they weren't caged animals and they had to see their environment and two large planes of bunk beds parked at their respective sides.

Rin and Mikasa didn't have to speak at all because they knew each other for some time now and knew that it was a definite that they were sleeping next to each other. They wouldn't have it any other way.

Switching to their night wear, given by the military, Rin bounded for the top bunks, grinning from ear to ear. Her mind told her to calm the hell down, but for some reason, her excitement for sleeping on the top bunks overpowered that. She felt like she was on a cloud, watching everyone below shuffle about. Mikasa climbed up the ladder and sat right next to her.

"Can you help me cut my hair?" Mikasa asked.

Rin made a face.

"Are you really listening to Eren? You don't have to cut your hair if you don't want to Mikasa." Rin said annoyed.

An angry nerve was ticking away because Eren was still galloping away on his high ass horse. It all started as a simple conversation with Eren suggesting for the girls to cut their hair. While Mikasa agreed, Rin preferred her hair the way it was now. It was as long as Mikasa's and it was born to get longer and bring out her womanly finesse.

That's when the conversation became a screaming match.

Insults were being slung until Mikasa ended it with strong tugs of their ears, an annoyed face that spoke _if we were in prison, you'll be my bitches_. She frog-marched Eren to the boys' side of the camp and pulled Rin along to the girls' side. _Who the hell is he to be demanding me to cut my hair!_

"He's right. The hair will get in the way of training." She fiddled with the tips of her hair.

"Then just tie it up." Black eyes landed on Sasha who was still in her uniform snoozing. One girl was using her back as a foot rest. "No, you will not look like Potato girl. I'll guarantee it."

"It'll be easier just to cut it."

Rin let out a piteous sigh as if Mikasa cutting her hair would have a devastating blow to the populace of long haired girls across the land. "Fine, whatever you want."

"It's just hair. It'll grow back."

"Yeah, yeah, does anyone have a comb and a pair of scissors?"

No one responded. Actually, everyone continued with their activities as if there was no voice at all and they could care less about Rin's existence. It took every fiber of her being not to formally announce her reflection of everyone, a word that closely rhymed with glasspoles.

Lost in the rolling wave of hormonal pre-teen rage, she missed a timid voice squeak

"Here."

Rin reeled her head to see a short petite blonde girl peering at them out of wide blue eyes. Outstretched were a pink comb and a blue scissor.

"Thanks." Rin thanked her and she put a little rise at the end because this girl had a face of a thin porcelain doll and it was kind of creeping her the hell out. She took the comb and started roaming it through Mikasa's hair. "Um…"

"Krista Lenz." It was a pretty name along with her appearance and Rin couldn't help but feel insecure about her name. Of course she liked her name. She was named after her great-grandmother and plus it was unique, but sometimes when she would drone out her first name in her mind, it sounded like it was comprised from a magical incantation.

"I'm Rinora Charles, but you can call me Rin."And she left it at that because she was scared that her handshake would shatter the small girl.

"Mikasa Ackerman." Mikasa said from her seated spot.

Barbie obviously wanted to stay and observe the mini salon in front of her, so a round of twenty-one questions began, as awkward as three preteen girls could make it style. Mikasa, of course, asked the least questions and Rin, with the urge of not wanting to seem like she was disinterested—she was a tiny bit—, filled in the gap that was supposed to be Mikasa. Krista was actually a really friendly person. Her generous nature was real as the sky is blue. With the stories she shared—when she was little, she once balled her eyes out because she accidentally killed a moth. What the hell?—she was like a goddess of kindness and mercy and Rin grinned.

Okay, Barbie was good in her books.

Petting a hand on Mikasa's head, Rin frowned. "Ok, I just realized it'll be really messy if we cut your hair here. Let's go outside." They needed it anyway. The air was getting crusty with weird conversations and terms that she shouldn't have heard until she was eighteen.

Stepping outside (and letting the cool slippery air clean out her now sullied mind), she stood over Mikasa who was already seated on the first step of the porch. Rin noticed Krista didn't come outside with them. She put a 'whatever' to it. After all, she did here somebody call her anyway.

"Ok. I combed out your tangles. Let's start cutting."

Ten minutes of snipping and hair falling later and she bobbed her head in satisfaction. The short hair style actually looked really good on Mikasa. People would think she were bullshitting if she told them she was twelve. The maturity was so overwhelming that Rin squirmed a little, feeling like a scolded child under Mikasa's gaze.

"How does it look?" Mikasa asked smoothly.

"Wow, Mikasa. That hairstyle really fits you." Rin wedged in a chuckle. "Now I know my other career if the soldier thing doesn't work out."

"How do you know how to do hair?"

"Do you remember the dolls that I used to have and gave half of it to you?"

"Yeah, the dolls that I lost."

An angry tick punched through her forehead. "So glad you're proud of it. Anyway, I practiced on them."

Mikasa wrapped dainty fingers around a strand of short trimmed, raven hair. "Thanks Rin."And she smiled her usual calm smile, but her eyes were glossy and lit. Rin gave her a slack-jawed smile.

"Seeing your hair like that makes me want to cut mine." What a contradictory. Just moments ago she almost got into a wrestling match with Eren about _not _cutting her hair. Not that she really thought about it, it was more so of how Eren was commanding her like some peasant that really steamed her.

"No." Mikasa deadpanned. Rin squawked on how blunt her answer was. Not even one second of thought was geared up for it.

"No…?"

" No. Don't cut your hair."

"Why!?"

"I want to see how you look with long hair." Happy crescent eyes came into view to which Mikasa inwardly cocked an eyebrow.

"Really?" Rin chirped, still having those eccentric eyes glued on her. She was quite curious. When she met Rin, her hair was always girlishly short, even shorter that Armin's bowled hair (well the front of her hair was like a 'what if' kind of thing)

She nodded and opened her mouth and stopped when she was facing a wooden wall. Rin already trotted back inside, all gleams and vowing that she'll be Rapunzel's reincarnation just for her, which got some tentative responses.

Mikasa just followed inside, her grin more bright than her usual one.

* * *

She was flattered, really she was.

Her general aptitude: Balance good. Flexible enough to be a parkour*****.

Now, what the hell was a parkour?

Rin knew from outside knowledge that it was a French word (the genetics that her mother gave her will forever be adored) and also by the way one of the spectators was enunciating the word in a disturbing French accent that spoke volumes that he was trying too hard. These guys weren't even courteous enough to enlighten her about the term and left her mind to decompose whether it was a good or bad overview; (by the way they looked satisfied and her happy-sewn façade, it was borderline good.)

Rin was not a horrible person. She wanted everyone aware of that.

She already established long ago that she had a crude sense of humor, so when Eren did piss poor on the first basic training of their 3D maneuver, her first response was laughter that he finally fell off his throne, then guilt because, shit, that was embarrassing, then actually caring.

Really embarrassing when the instructor was hollering "There's some job openings in the custodial department so you can clean up your SHIT PERFORMANCE!"

So like the good friends that they were, Rin, Mikasa and Armin stayed with Eren to help him with his maneuver gear. The end result was a concussion and three preteens having to lug a heavy body to first aid. (Rin got a little irritated because Armin wouldn't stop freaking out)

At dinner, the other kids whispered. They pointed at Eren's bruised head, and murmured behind their hands, and Rin's face was crossed between sympathetic pity and rising laughter because Eren was still as a pole. But now the obviously offending murmurs were getting too loud for Rin's liking and she gave them all her very best 'fuck off and go fall in a ditch' eyes and immediately half the room became quieter.

She turned back to face Eren, still playing his role as a tree and flicked his nose.

"Ow! What the hell!?"

"Stop sulking and eat your food." Ended it with a spoon serving of her stew.

Eren grimaced.

"She's right. Worrying about it won't make a difference." Armin chose his words carefully because Eren was giving him eyes sadder than a starving orphan. "If you pull it off tomorrow, then everything will be fine. More importantly, you need to eat to recover from your blood loss."

"What if I can't pull it off tomorrow?" Eren buried his head inside his hands; this was his _life._ "I won't know what to do with myself."

"Then you should forget about the whole extermination thing." Now the table was swaddled in unsure silence. Eren's jaw was dropped for some good time, watching Mikasa coolly eat her food like she hadn't said a word.

"What?" His mouth finally moved.

"If you're not cut out for it, then that's just the way it is. If you're not good at it, you'll just die pointlessly and then all your efforts will be for nothing." Her words were a little harsh, but truth did ring from it; Rin mentally face-palmed when Eren had a face of totally not getting her words.

"She's saying you don't have to be a soldier." Rin said offhandedly. Mikasa neither confirmed nor denied it, but Rin knew she was right. All the better by her next words.

"Supporting mankind as a manufacturer is also an option."

"What the…Did you forget what I'd experience that day!? Do you think those words mean anything to me!?"

Ok, the sibling tension was literally fanning right into Rin's face. She seriously brooded over getting up and dragging Armin with her, maybe over to Jean's table because that table looked positively happy.

"This has nothing to do with your determination."

"What do you mean?"

"Whether you become a soldier or not is not for you to decide."

Eren shut his mouth, but he kind of looked like he wanted to beat Mikasa's face in. And so abidingly, the bell rang for the end of dinner and Rin got up to leave.

Once outside, she spotted Krista and waved, albeit awkwardly, and smiled when the girl whole-heartedly returned it. Alright, probably making friends wouldn't be so bad.

Someone was next to her, tan and tall and androgynous. Seriously, Rin was having trouble deciphering that person's gender and the outside light was dull, smothering the person's appearance even more.

"Sasha!" The person shouted and in an instant Sasha was by his/her side—the voice sounded somewhat feminine, but voice alone is subjective—like a tamed dog.

"What happened to taking care of me and Krista's chores? You're starting to slack off already? And after we saved your life too. So, so ungrateful."

"No, I'll get it done right away my saviors!" Sasha wailed with real suffering in her voice.

"You don't have to do it Sasha. Ymir, stop it." Krista chided lamely.

Rin narrowed her eyes at the display and probably she should've just continued her peaceful walk back to the girls' cabin, but already she was stepping towards them because she thought Potato girl endured enough humiliation.

"Don't you think you should do them yourself?" She didn't really include Krista. The poor girl was clearly uncomfortable through it all. Freckles galore, this Ymir was, even more than Marco's—at least Marco looks like a cutie pie with his.

Yes, Rin affirmed, she was female and yes that was one of the hardest things she ever had to crack.

"And don't you think you should mind your own damn business."

"Ymir!"

She just got here, she just met this person, so decking someone in the face wasn't really on her personal criteria. She didn't want a nickname like Sasha; the girl who beats the shit of people cause she's bored. Rin settled to use her parents' approach: sweetly insult someone into submission or worst a fetal position and act like nothing happened.

"I would have, but your extremely masculine voice was so loud, it was as if you wanted the entire world and beyond to hear you." Rin's smile was short, small and delightful.

Ymir ground her teeth together, hard. "Who the hell do you think you are!?"

"I'm just a person who had trouble figuring out if you were a girl or not."

Sasha started snickering. Krista kept frantically alternating between Rin and Ymir. Now Ymir's face was the epitome of rage and Rin made a sound of intrigued amazement at how much anger can make a person less attractive.

"Why you little bit-!"

"Ymir, don't!" And slender fingers grabbed at the hook of her arm.

"Krista, let go of me! This girl needs a fucking punch in her face!"

"No! Rinora is a nice person!"

Rin was about to say something, an unsolicited comment that would most likely make the high damage in this situation worst, until rough fingers clenched at her collar.

"Oh, hey Mikasa. I was just waiting for you outside and..."

Mikasa made a humming sound deep in her throat. In Rin's intuition, she heard 'I'm not buying that shit.'

Mikasa pulled Rin towards the cabin and Christa pulled Ymir to do their chores, forgetting about Sasha who was still standing there in the aftermath.

She silently praised Rin for saving her from the task master.

* * *

It was Eren's big day.

All trainees gathered around the training site to see if Eren would be successful in using the 3D maneuver gear. It actually sparked an enormous debate amongst the trainees. Some of the girls in the cabin were discussing it (one girl said she hopes Eren does it because he was kind of cute. Rin almost chucked a boot at her head) and the boys wouldn't shut up about it, according to Eren and Armin.

Rin saw it from afar, that familiar resolute gleam that Eren has whenever he wants to achieve, when he plans to achieve and Rin smiled.

"Ready, Jaeger?"

Everyone watched in quiet wonder as Eren nodded his head and they proceed hoisting him up in the air. His body was shaking immensely, but he still was upright and with that Rin's smile became big and stretched. She cupped her feverish heart beating an 'oh my god' every second.

His triumph only lasted a few long seconds before his body, head first, crashed to the ground upside-down and all the trainees shared a sigh of disappointment. Rin, Mikasa and Armin had full blown frowns on their faces. Eren was on his knees, hunched over as if he lost the most important battle in history.

"Cadet Wagner. Exchange your equipment with Jaegar's"

"Huh?" Rin muttered, ditching her sad state completely.

The boy did as told and when they restarted the procedure, Eren was high up, straight in no time flat. No tumbling or falling or looking like he needed to release some manly tears.

It was as if he screwed with everyone's expectations.

"You need to get some new gear, Jaegar." Keith inspected the belt. "The metallic fixtures of your belt are broken. Normally, it goes up to the waist, so that even if you're overturned, your head shouldn't hit the ground."

"So am I…?" Eren asked so hesitantly he thought he could break.

"Yeah, you're good."

Eren pumped his fists in the air. "Hell yeah!"

Some moderate cheering and clapping gleaned from the crowd and Eren beamed, a smile so bright, it bordered on blinding.

While her heart slowed and she squeezed out a laughter or two, Rin gaped up at Eren and soon everything was just a blur, except for him. The little gasp she whispered made her look more; Eren's baby fat was trimmed off now. His jaw was squared and a tad defined. His eyes were even greener than before, and the sheen in his eyes upped the captivity.

_Were his shoulders always that broad?_

That sneaky blush climbed to her cheeks.

Armin noticed and smirked, smirked all the way until two minutes later Keith glared at him.

* * *

***Parkour- Training discipline created in France where people overcome obstacles in their environment, using only their bodies and their surroundings to propel themselves **

**Reviews/ faves/ follows are my fuel!**

**Stop. We all know we love Russia from Hetalia.**


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